


Treading on thin ice

by Shi_no_tamashii



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cold, Gen, Good day turns bad, Hurt/Comfort, Ice, Ice Skating, Winter, a lot of ice, human!Cas, mild swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 09:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7885669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_no_tamashii/pseuds/Shi_no_tamashii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A crack in the ice went unnoticed as black shoes neared an ominous weak spot. Blue eyes scanned the ice when he noticed the difference in quality underneath his feet. A quick glance towards his companion predicated that he hadn’t noticed anything. Castiel decided to skid to a panicky stop as the ground beneath him gave way. A chunk of ice shot up in front of him and his eyes widened when he felt the freezing water pulling him downwards through the thinning ice. He heard Dean’s warning cry before sound was all but a lost echo in the distance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Treading on thin ice

A thick blanket of snow awaited the hunters outside and for some reason Sam had agreed to Dean's plans for that day. Was he going to regret it? Probably.  
Both hunters had woken up early that day and met in the kitchen for breakfast. Sam could recall his brother's words while watching the road in front of him.

"There's a huge pond not far away from here." Dean had said, obviously hinting something. Sam had narrowed his eyes in confusion, urging Dean to continue.  
"I want to go there." Dean had simply said. Sam remembered how the dull headache he'd woken up with worsened as he rolled his eyes.

"Just tell me what you're planning." Sam had said. Dean's grin had been unsettling, reminding him of the memories he tried to forget.

"I want to go ice skating. Cas has never set foot on ice before and I'm sure it'll be great balance practice. You know, since he wants to be a hunter so bad." Sam knew that wasn't entirely true. Dean just wanted to go ice skating and have fun, not train. He couldn't blame him though, they'd been busy lately and a bit of fun didn't sound that bad.

"We don't have skates." Sam had reminded his brother, his own disappointment by the realization was apparent. Dean snorted and waved a dismissive hand.

"Find your climbing shoes, I'll wake up Cas." Dean said before walking away. His excitement had been clear as day. Sam shook his head and proceeded to look for two pairs of climbing shoes. Dean would find his own, but Castiel didn't have any and Dean's shoes didn't fit him.

That left him with his excited brother in the passenger seat and an ex-angel in the back. Castiel hadn't stopped fiddling with his gloves since they left the motel and the rustling sound of it was starting to submerge Dean's excitement into annoyance.

"Can you stop that?" Dean asked, turning around to meet blue eyes. Castiel blinked before he turned his gaze back towards his hands. He held them out and grimaced ever so slightly.

"I find them to be rather uncomfortable." Castiel said. Dean rolled his eyes and grabbed the ex-angel's hands. He saw the problem instantly and tugged the gloves off with amusement.

"This," Dean pointed towards one of the glove's fingers. "This is where your pinky goes, not your thumb." Dean explained slowly. Castiel looked at his ungloved hand and narrowed his eyes.  
"You do know which finger is which, right?" Dean asked trying not to sound like he just lost all the hope of the world.

"Of course." Castiel replied. He took his glove back and started fiddling with it with his hands, not trying to get them on anymore. Dean sighed at the lost case in the backseat and closed his eyes. He was starting to wonder if it had been such a good idea to go ice skating with a man who didn't even know how to handle gloves. Dean saw Sam looking from the corner of his eyes.

"What?" Dean asked. There it was. The annoyance had been building up for too long.

"Nothing." Sam replied, half a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

They heard Cas mutter something which sounded vaguely like "Assbutts." But they chose to ignore it, amusement hanging in the air.  
Another five minutes and Sam pulled over in front of a large pond covered in crystalline ice. It was noon by now and the sun made the ice glisten, etherealizing its already enchanting color. The vast, white landscape complemented the cloudless sky. It was a beautiful winter day. Dean noted with glee.

"Dean, the coffee and tea." Sam said with a sigh. They had made coffee and tea in advance to keep them warm but apparently, they had forgotten the two flasks.

"We forgot the coffee?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"And the tea." Sam reminded his brother. Castiel loved tea so they had made sure to prepare enough for the former angel.  
"I'll go get it fast, the motel isn't far from here." Sam said ready getting back into the car.

"Are you sure?" Dean asked. "It's just coffee." He said before he hesitated. "No, you're right, Sammy." He said as an afterthought. He grinned and waved his hand.

"Look after Cas." Sam said pointing towards something over Dean's shoulder. Dean turned around and saw that Castiel was trying to walk on the ice, but failing miserably.

"Right." Dean said with a thoughtful expression.

* * *

 

After what seemed like hours, but were mere minutes, Castiel regained his footing on the ice and Dean’s uncontrollable laughter had stopped at last. A few more minutes later and Castiel was sliding over the ice with practiced ease. Dean raised an eyebrow at the stunning progress the ex-angel was making. It was yet another confirmation of how fast a learner Castiel actually was. It wasn’t until Dean suggested they held a race when everything seemed to go downhill. The cold had stopped bothering them after half an hour of laughter and fun. Dean wasn’t even thinking about Sam taking his damned time.

Dean drew a thin line in the ice and positioned his left foot so his toes were aligned with the carved line. His right foot held his weight, waiting for Cas to copy him. He did so without question and smiled with childlike excitement. Dean smiled back with a matching grin and gave a curt nod.

“Ready? On three.” Dean started. Castiel nodded, positioned himself better so his balance wouldn’t be thrown off if his right foot decided to slip.  
“One.” Dean looked at Castiel’s bright blue eyes. The white of the ice illuminated his eyes.  
“Two.” Dean scanned his friend’s tensing muscles as the countdown came to an end. Quickly, Dean averted his eyes.  
“Three!” They took off together, eyes cast towards the horizon.

A crack in the ice went unnoticed as black shoes neared an ominous weak spot. Blue eyes scanned the ice when he noticed the difference in quality underneath his feet. A quick glance towards his companion predicated that he hadn’t noticed anything. Castiel decided to skid to a panicky stop as the ground beneath him gave way. A chunk of ice shot up in front of him and his eyes widened when he felt the freezing water pulling him downwards through the thinning ice. He heard Dean’s warning cry before sound was all but a lost echo in the distance. A dull reminiscence of what was. His arms were flailing, but his mind was placid. Tranquility gave way for realization when he tried to inhale. He couldn’t breathe. His eyes shot open, but the temperature of the water forced him to close them again. His body was starting to get numb and his arms had stilled above his head. Suddenly he was reminded of his one too many deaths. He felt like he was floating in limbo, a darkness, ever present yet soothing. When he felt a heavy pull, he allowed himself to be swept away. Although it wasn’t what he’d thought he’d see the moment he opened his eyes, he couldn’t deny it wasn’t unwelcome.

“…me?” He heard vaguely. Me? Castiel thought, trying to take in his surroundings. He recognized the face above him. Dean. He tried to form the familiar name on his lips, but he found himself immobilized by an ominous numbness. A strange bone deep cold had settled itself in his bones and he wasn’t even sure if he was shivering or not.

“…body heat…help.” He heard another voice. Another familiar voice. Castiel closed his eyes in an attempt to savor the sound cutting through the endless confusion.

“Cas.” He heard Dean’s voice say. He opened his eyes curiously and felt like tilting his head in confusion, but his head refused to cooperate. “Stay still.” He heard more clearly. So he could move after all? Peculiar. He looked around, trying to take in their position. As it turned out, Dean had dragged him away from the ice. They were sitting in the snow, Dean had curled himself around Castiel in an attempt to warm the latter up. The ex-angel smiled despite the exhaustion tugging at his conscious mind.

“…you say?...smiling.” He heard another string of words before he allowed himself to succumb to the darkness pulling him down.

* * *

 

He opened his eyes to the sound of the engine of the impala. It was a comforting sound once you got used to its familiarity and having spent hours in the same cramped space they called _the backseat of the impala_ , sure Castiel embraced the comfort of the hard seat underneath him. He tried to sit up feeling his, but he was pushed back down by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Dean frowning down at him. Had he done something to piss the hunter off? He should better apologize than.

“ ’m sorry.” Castiel said, his voice met his ears and he noted the hoarseness instantly. Had he been shouting? He couldn’t think of anything he could have done wrong which would have led to his voice being as fucked up as it was.

“You back?” Dean asked with obvious caution, his frown melting into relief. That frown wasn’t one of anger, it had been of concern.

“Did I leave?” Castiel asked with just as much caution.

“You don’t remember? You stepped on thin ice and went straight through it.” Dean said, the frown of concern returned momentarily. Castiel caught Sam staring through the rearview mirror and his mind brought him back to earlier that day.

“There was a crack.” Cas noted, remembering the crack he spotted before the quality of ice started to shift through his balance. Castiel hadn’t realized his words would set Dean off in a series of questions asking if he broke anything or where he’d felt the crack and if anything else hurt. Castiel shook his head and tried to calm down the hunter’s panicked tantrum.  
“I’m fine. I’m fine. I meant, I saw a crack in the ice.” The former angel reassured quickly. Dean let out a breath and a relieved breathless laugh escaped his lips.

“Don’t you dare do that again, bitch.” Dean said with a smile.

“Who wanted to race, Jerk?” Sam chimed in. Castiel took his opportunity and laughed quietly at the two brothers.

“Assbutts.”

 

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> Well...the ending made me smile while writing it :'D  
> Hope you enjoyed ^_^
> 
> Also, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm looking for something else to write for this fandom.


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